Lagarde to Release Memoir in January as ECB Exit Talk Swirls
(Bloomberg) — President Christine Lagarde will publish an autobiography in January as speculation intensifies about her departing the European Central Bank before her term ends.
The book, Lady First, will be released in German on Jan. 29, according to a press statement by publisher Piper. It will “feature” prominent figures including former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, rock star Bono and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, it said.
“Christine Lagarde has always been first: France’s first female minister of economic affairs and finance, the first woman to lead the International Monetary Fund, the first female president of the ECB,” the press release said. “Now, for the first time, she tells the story of her own life.”
Lagarde plans to promote the book in person in Germany and Switzerland in February, according to Piper. It will also be published in English.
News of the memoir arrives as rumors build that Lagarde won’t see out her eight-year term at the ECB, which wraps up in October 2027. Bloomberg reported last month that the World Economic Forum, known for its annual gathering in Davos, is still courting her to take over and that she appears ready to accept the role.
Lagarde will likely be quizzed about her future when she talks to reporters following an ECB interest-rate meeting on Thursday where investors are anticipating a quarter-point hike.
“President Lagarde agreed to write her autobiography with a co-author,” an ECB spokesperson said. “The project is a private activity, carried out in the president’s own time, and isn’t using ECB resources.”
In the Piper press release, Lagarde is quoted as saying that she doesn’t want young women to believe that they can only succeed if they’re born into the right family or with the right name.
“I want them to know the unvarnished truth of a rebellious little girl from a modest, middle-class background who took many risks, both calculated and spontaneous, and nevertheless ended up in the most coveted positions in politics, finance and international life,” she said.
Lagarde worked with German journalist Marc Hujer, who writes for Spiegel magazine and has already penned three books, among them a biography of actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Lagarde and Hujer have known each other for more than a decade, with Hujer accompanying her to southeast Asia and Africa for a profile in 2013 when she was managing director of the IMF.
–With assistance from Alexander Weber and Thomas Hall.
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